In Our World: Ottans - The Early Months
by matthewmspace
Summary: This story takes place directly after In Our World Book 7. It covers the first few months of the lives of the Ottans.
1. Chapter 1 - First Day

Welcome to this new story! It's time to explore the first few months of the new hybrids! As usual, the rules for my stories are in my bio (hint: read Book 1 first). So let's get started, shall we?

**CHAPTER 1 – First Day**

(P to Emily a few hours after Book 7) "Wow, that was some day," I said to Matthew. It had been a few hours since I had given birth to Dylan and Julia. The zoo was open, so it was just us four below. "You're telling me honey. I mean, we battled Blowhole and now we're parents," Matthew said to me happily, kissing me.

"I'm still so sorry I hurt you," I said sadly, tearing up. "I thought we were past that honey. As I said, I can't blame or hate you for that. It was my fault for not expecting the unexpected. And not just getting us out of here," Matthew said to me. "I still don't know how you can forgive me so easily," I said to him sadly.

Matthew sighed. "It wasn't your fault. Blowhole took advantage of your Mind Jacking. I mean, he was going to use you and our children as weapons. He's pure evil. You, however, and clearly, are not," Matthew said to me, giving me a hug. I gladly accepted that.

"You're right honey. I do need to let that go. I need to stop moping around. We should both be happy. After all, we're parents finally," I said happily, kissing him. "Let me tell you, though, that was painful," I said.

"You nearly broke my flipper, grabbing it. I can almost imagine," he said. I smirked. "That wasn't even close. It was probably more painful for me than Marlene, though," I said. "Most likely, since you were pregnant for over twice as long as Otters usually are," Matthew said.

"For both of us, though, it was probably more painful than any other Otters have ever experienced. Of course, I didn't mate with an Otter," I said happily. "Nope. A human," Matthew said. We kissed.

Suddenly, both of the children started to cry in their cribs, so we walked over to them. "Shh. Both Mommy and Daddy are here. What would you like?" I asked both Julia and Dylan. They simply looked at us. "Maybe they're hungry?" Matthew asked me. Both of their faces lit up with the word _hungry_. We smiled at them. *

"It seems like it. So, I know what to do, but do you? Dylan's a Penguin. Marlene said she had trouble feeding Samuel," I said to Matthew. * "I'd bring Skipper down here to ask him, but I think since the zoo is still open that my idea is absolutely terrible for our cover," he replied.

"I agree. Maybe we should look up what you have to do?" I asked Matthew. He pulled out his phone. "That's still weird to me as how that works," he said to me, while typing. We looked at how Penguins feed their young. "Yuck. I really have to do that?" Matthew questioned. I giggled. "Sorry honey, but you are the Penguin. Grab a fish and start chewing," I said to him.

"Actually, I've got an idea on how I don't have to do that," Matthew said, before making Dylan an Otter. I gave him a little love punch on the flipper. "Now that's just abusing your power," I said to Matthew, smirking. "But it is easier, right? But if you want, I'll feed him as a Penguin," Matthew said. He grimaced at the thought.

He obviously didn't want to puke into Dylan's mouth. It was perfectly understandable. If I were in his flippers, I wouldn't want to do it either. It was nature at work, but still gross. "You really don't want to have to chew and release, do you?" I asked him. "Not really. But I will if you want me to," Matthew said.

I thought for a moment. It actually would be easier. I could obviously feed both of the children with no issue. "You actually are right honey. It would be easier for me to feed both of them, since I can do that. And we don't have to worry about something going wrong, like a fish having some disease or a piece getting stuck," I said to Matthew.

"Those are good reasons as well honey. Something could potentially taint the fish. After all, infants do have weaker immune systems. And even though I would chew thoroughly, there's always that risk. And we know that you aren't sick," Matthew said to me.

"Nope. I'm just tired from giving birth," I said, causing us to laugh. Both Dylan and Julia started to cry again. "We're sorry Dylan and Julia. I'll feed you now," I said to them. They stopped when Matthew and I picked them out of their cribs and giggled. Matthew and I had a quick kiss before I sat on the table.

(P to me) I took Julia from Emily while she got ready. While she was lying down, I looked between her and the children. She was so beautiful. We had together created two amazing children. Our lives were perfect.

(P to Emily) I waited a moment before taking the children from Matthew. He was looking between me and our new children. They were so adorable. Our love had grown and had given us children. I sat back up and gave Matthew a quick kiss before lying back down. We nearly got lost in our moment, but the children started to cry again. Matthew and I blushed as I took them from him.

(P to me) "So do you want me to turn away or close my eyes?" I asked Emily. "Please. You saw me give birth. And how do you think I got pregnant?" Emily asked me with a smirk. "Always the nutty one," I said to her.

"Your fault," she said playfully. "Your idea," I replied also playfully. She blushed. "I know. But I can't complain about that. It helped make our children," Emily said happily. Both Dylan and Julia began to feed from Emily. "I feel like a cow doing this," she said. "Would you like to be one?" I asked her.

Emily smiled. "Not really. Especially since I'm busy right now," she said, making us laugh. She nearly disturbed the children, but didn't. Both Dylan and Julia finished after a few minutes and smiled at Emily. "They're so adorable," I said as we took them to their cribs.

(P to Emily) "I know. We've made beautiful children," I said, before we kissed. "Where do you think they got that from?" I asked Matthew. "You, of course," he said to me. We kissed again. "I was sleeping in my crate when I came here last year. What did you think of me at right that moment?" I asked Matthew. He brought up the Memory Viewer, while also turning Dylan back into a Penguin. **

"Ah, going to show me, are you?" I asked him, knowingly. "Yes," he answered me. He put on the helmet and we watched his memory. "Love at first sight honey?" I asked Matthew after we were done. He sent the Memory Viewer back down.

"Yes. I'm glad that worked out. Now we're married and have children," Matthew said happily to me. "I'm glad too," I said kissing him. We looked over at the children and they were both smiling as they slept.

"What do you think they're dreaming about, if they are dreaming?" I asked Matthew. "Well, we could get Kowalski to… actually, scratch that invention idea. But maybe it's about all of us," he said happily to me. "I sure hope so," I said to Matthew, kissing him again.

(P to later that day) "Well, your parents seem to really like our new children," I said happily to Matthew. We had just finished video chatting with them, showing off Dylan and Julia. "They're still weirded out that their grandchildren aren't human though. But they do love them. And I will turn them into humans before we go there," Matthew said to me.

"Me too, right?" I asked him. "Of course honey. Why should only us three be humans?" he said to me, kissing me. "Oh, I remember saying to the fans that spotted us after we beat Blowhole that we would tell them what happened. Can you call the computer back?" I asked Matthew. It appeared seconds later in front of me. "Thanks. This will be a fun post," I said to him, starting to type.

"Save the biggest news for the end my nutty wife," Matthew said to me. "Oh, I intend to. Do you have a camera?" I asked him. He pulled out his phone again. "Right here honey," he said to me.

"Make sure to turn off the flash," I reminded him. "Sure thing," he said, pressing some buttons on his phone. He walked over to our children in their cribs and silently took a flash-less picture of them, not disturbing them.

We put the picture and the news at the end of the post and then sent it. After a minute, everyone came back down, since they were done for the day. And Dylan and Julia woke up as well, staring at everyone. "You really do have beautiful children," Marlene said to us as they all walked over to them.

"Thank you. And as you did, we would like to see the results of their DNA tests," I said to Kowalski. "Sure thing," he said. We all walked into the lab, with the children enjoying the ride in their cribs. They were smiling as we rolled them in.

"So Kowalski, how come they look like Penguins and Otters instead of a human or an Otter?" Matthew asked him. "Well, it seems the genes for Penguins and Otters are more dominant for either gender than for humans," Kowalski answered. "Well, my normal species' loss I guess," Matthew said.

"I would ask if their appearance would change, but since my belly didn't grow when I was taken there, I don't think I need to. But how long will it be until our children eat solid food?" I asked Kowalski. "Well, for Otters it's 14 weeks, but for humans it's, well, I don't know," Kowalski said.

"Well, my best guess for humans, since I am one, is a few months to a year. But I'm not sure either," Matthew said. "Let's just hope it's on the shorter side of that scale honey," I said to him. "I sure hope so. That's still gross for Penguins," Matthew said. "What is?" Samuel asked him. "Classified," all of us parents said.

"You don't really want to know anyway honey," Marlene said to Samuel. "Well, what about me Mom?" Annabelle asked Marlene. "You don't really want to know that either," Skipper said. "Don't worry. We won't feed our children when you two are here," I told Samuel and Annabelle.

"So do you have anymore questions?" Kowalski asked Matthew and I after a moment. "When will our children be able to speak?" I asked Kowalski. "Well, for Pengotters it was a month. But once again, the human aspect makes me unsure," Kowalski said.

"Well, I don't know when it specifically starts, but it's usually after a year or so for humans," Matthew explained. "A year? Really?" I asked him. "It just depends honey. But that probably won't be the case," he said to me. "I sure hope not," I said. "I can help with that, if that does happen though," he whispered to me. "Thank you," I whispered back.

"Do you have anymore questions?" Kowalski asked us. We both thought for a minute. "I think I'm out of questions. Do you have more, honey?" I asked Matthew. "I think I'm out for now as well," he answered. With that, we went out of the lab and all played with the children. They seemed to love the attention. Then they fell asleep and we went to bed ourselves.

That's the end of the first chapter. So a lot of the things in the first chapter of _Pengotters: The Early Months_ also happened here, yet altered to my OC's instead of for Skipper and Marlene. But it was a good chapter, right? Please rate and review it. I have a few notes today.

* Obviously copied _Pengotters: The Early Months_ here.

** Referencing that from Book 5.


	2. Chapter 2 - A Clever Ruse

Welcome to the second chapter! Let's skip ahead a bit, shall we? Oh, and let's have some fun too!

**CHAPTER 2 – A Clever Ruse**

(P moving forward a month and a quarter and changing to me)

"Come on Dylan, come to Daddy," I said to him. The children were learning to walk! It was really fast for them to do that. Just a week before, they had started crawling. Now they were walking. Dylan started slowly waddling over, trying not to fall. Luckily he didn't. "Good job," I said happily to him, giving him a hug.

"Now it's your turn Julia," Emily said to her. Julia had actually started learning to crawl and walk first. She was able to walk faster than Dylan could waddle. We watched as she walked over to Emily, successfully, without any falls. "Good job honey," she said happily to Julia, also giving her a hug.

"They learned this really fast," I said to Emily happily. "I know. I mean, you said humans usually can't do this for a year or so. And this is a lot earlier than when Samuel and Annabelle learned this, according to Skipper and Marlene," she said. "I wonder if the nearly five months of you being pregnant with them factored into that," I said.

"After all, you were able to communicate with them on the final day before they were born," I continued. "I still don't get how that worked. But both Dylan and Julia really are smart. I just wonder when they'll start speaking," Emily said. "Me too. But probably soon, since they can already walk," I said.

Suddenly, we both heard the bell. We put the kids back in their cribs and locked them. "Now stay here children. We'll be back in a little while," we said to them. We thought we saw them nod, but decided that was our imagination. Emily and I kissed each other. "I'll see you in a few hours honey," I said to her.

"I'll see you later too. Mind sending me back so I don't have to walk?" she asked me. "Sure," I said, before sending her to the Otter habitat. I turned around and both Julia and Dylan were sleeping, being adorable as usual. "I'll see you later children," I said to them, before disappearing up the hatch.

(P to Julia) Both Dylan and I had heard Dad close the hatch. As soon as we couldn't hear anything, we knew we were safe. "That was fun," Dylan said. "I agree. How much have we learned without them knowing?" I asked him. He chuckled. "A lot. It's probably fun for Mom and Dad to see us act like that," Dylan said.

"I agree. I mean, we learned how to walk and crawl weeks ago. We learned how to talk a week or so later. Do you think we should tell Mom and Dad?" I asked Dylan. "Nah. It's fun to do this. Maybe eventually. But we did tell and show our cousins," he said. We both chuckled. "Yeah, Anna and Sam. They were shocked, but went along with our plan. I'm glad they haven't told anyone," I said happily.

Suddenly, the hatch started to open and we both went back to looking like we were sleeping. "Children. Daddy's here," Dad said to us. We both acted like we were waking up and looked at him blankly. "You two really are smart. We got extra fish today, so I brought you some," Dad said, putting them in our cribs.

We both looked curiously at the fish and then ate them. "Both of you really learned to eat solid food fast. And walking. I just wonder when you'll start talking," he said. We both looked at Dad curiously, trying to act as if we didn't know what he meant. We loved this ruse.

"Well, I'll see you later. Go back to sleep now," Dad said to us. We both faked going to sleep. After we closed our eyes, Dad moved my blanket onto me and probably did the same for Dylan. "Sweet dreams," Dad said to us before going back up the hatch and closing it.

"Man, that was great. I love doing that," Dylan said happily. "Me too. I mean, we're doing a great job at this. If Mom and Dad knew, they'd probably be shocked," I said. "I agree sis. We need to keep doing this as Ottanly long as possible," Dylan said. "I'm still confused at that. Mom's an Otter, but Dad's a Penguin. How are we Ottans? Shouldn't we be Pengotters, like our cousins?" I asked him.

"Well, we can probably ask Sam and Anna later. I overhead everyone this morning saying they were going on a snack run and were going to leave them with us. That should be fun to find out," Dylan said. "I agree," I said to him, giving him a high paw.

(P to Annabelle, after the zoo closed) "So are you sure you can take of your cousins?" Uncle Matthew asked us. "Yes. We'll make sure to take care of them. Do you want them to practice walking as well?" I asked both Uncle Matthew and Aunt Emily.

"Sure. Just please don't let them fall," Aunt Emily said to us, slightly pleading. "Don't worry, we won't," Sam assured both of them. "Ok then. Let's head out," Dad said. All of them filed up the ladder and left.

"So you did guys have a good day?" Julia asked us. "Yeah, we got a lot of fish," Sam said. "And we got a lot of popcorn," I said happily. ""Thanks for bringing me some popcorn the other day. It tastes great," Julia said. "No problem cousin," I replied. "So are you ever actually going to tell everyone besides us that you've been walking and talking for weeks?" Sam asked them.

"Nah. It's too much fun with this ruse. Maybe next week, we'll say our supposed first words though," Dylan said. We all laughed. "You really are growing up faster than we did. We weren't at where you are until we were two months old," Sam said. "Ottans for the win," Julia said happily, giving Dylan a high paw.

"Pengotters are way cooler," Sam and I said, defending our crossbreed. "And yet, we're ahead of where you were," Dylan said to us. "Yes, but your parents are both mammals. Our parents are a bird and a mammal," I said. "From only one world," Julia said. "Fine. We'll give you that point," Sam said.

"Can you imagine the look on everyone's faces if they knew what was going on right now?" Julia asked us all. "Well, you did shock us. But we're your cousins. I imagine your parents would go nuts," I said. We all laughed at that thought.

Suddenly, we all heard someone land in the pool. Both Dylan and Julia went quiet. Then the hatch opened and it was Aunt Emily. "Hi. Can we help you with anything?" I asked her. "Other than getting me a towel, not really. I just wanted to check on the children," she said.

Sam gave Julia to me while he got Aunt Emily a towel. "How'd you wind up in the pool Aunt Emily?" I asked her. "Matthew must have missed the mark by mistake. I'll have to tell him that when he calls me back in about a minute or so," she said. Both Sam and I laughed.

"Well, have fun with that. But you really are a nervous nelly Aunt Emily. As you can see, they're both fine," Sam said to her. She blushed while drying herself off. "I'm sorry, but it's just motherly instincts. So did they walk over to you without any falls?" Aunt Emily checked with us.

"No, they didn't fall. They seem to be doing really well," I said to Aunt Emily. Now I was really caught up in the ruse. "That's great! You two make good babysitters," she said. "Now I have about 45 seconds. Can you come here please, Julia and Dylan?" she asked them.

Both of them, still in their ruse, started to get up and walk towards Aunt Emily, They made it, of course, with no falls and about 25 seconds to spare. "Good job children. Now can you go back to your cousins so I don't accidentally take you with me?" she asked them. They started walking back to us and made it. "See you later Aunt Emily," Sam and I said to her. "See you later," she said before vanishing.

All four of us cousins burst out laughing. "Oh man, that was great!" Dylan said. "It sure was. You're pulling this off perfectly," I said to him and Julia. "Thanks. That was pretty funny how Mom ended up in the water by mistake. But we really got lucky," Julia said. "Yes, you really did. But it probably would have worked out fine anyway," Sam said.

"Yes. But we have a question? How are we Ottans? Mom is an Otter like your mother. And Dad's a Penguin like your father. Shouldn't we be Pengotters like you?" Dylan asked us. "You're just as curious as we are. Well, it's good you already know about Uncle Matthew's world. Were you shocked when you overheard?" I asked our cousins.

"Who wouldn't be? I mean, everyone except Mom and ourselves were on TV in Dad's world. He used to watch them all. That's wild. We're still shocked. But we're still not giving up this ruse," Julia said with a smirk.

"You're just as mischievous as our mothers. It must be a family trait," Sam said. "Probably. But do you know what Dad looks like as a human?" Dylan asked us. "Actually, thanks to Kowalski's invention that, well, failed, we all know what we look like as humans. That, and your father's ability to change things," I said.

"That's really wild that thanks to simple copyright to save our freedom that Dad can change anything at will. Do you think you could ask him for an update on what you look like as humans, but get us involved?" Julia asked us. "We can try. No guarantees though," Sam said. "We'll take any chance we can get. I want to see Mom as a human too. Not to mention us," Julia said. "We'll definitely try," I said to her.

After a few minutes, everyone came back through the hatch. And once again, Julia and Dylan stopped talking. "Hi. Did everything go well since I dropped in?" Aunt Emily asked Sam and I. "I'm still sorry about that misfire honey," Uncle Matthew said. "It's alright. So did everything go well?" Aunt Emily asked us again.

"Yes, Aunt Emily. We've just been helping them practice walking. How did they learn that so fast?" Sam asked Aunt Emily and Uncle Matthew. "We really don't know. But it's still great that my humanity didn't affect that," Uncle Matthew said.

"Speaking of that, we haven't been human in awhile. Can you change all of us for a minute or two?" I asked him. "Sure. Why not? Honey, do you mind if I change our children too?" Uncle Matthew asked Aunt Emily. "Not at all. I've actually been wondering what they would look like as humans," she said. "OK then," Uncle Matthew said before changing us all.

"Ah, it's interesting being human again. But I still miss my tail," I said. "It seems we all miss them every time we're changed," Mom agreed. "Both of the children seem interested as well," Aunt Emily said. We all turned and even though they were still in their ruse, looked curiously at themselves. They still didn't say anything, but Sam and I knew what they were thinking.

"So this is what they would look like if your human genes were more dominant than either Penguins and Otters. They're still adorable as ever though," Aunt Emily said happily. "They sure are. So are you two good?" Uncle Matthew asked Sam and I. "Yeah, we're good now. Thank you," Sam said. We returned to normal. "No problem," Uncle Matthew said.

Suddenly, we all got tired. Julia and Dylan were the first to yawn and that wasn't a ruse. They both reached for Aunt Emily and Uncle Matthew, expecting to be picked up and put in their cribs. They did so and soon after, we all went to our bunks as well.

That's a wrap on this chapter. Oh, you four! You've definitely inherited the Otter trait of being mischievous. So was this a good chapter? Please rate and review it. I've got no notes today.


	3. Chapter 3 - Learning

Welcome to the 3rd chapter. I hope you like the new story so far. Let's get going, shall we?

**CHAPTER 3 – Learning**

(P two weeks ahead and going to Julia) The week before, Dylan and I started talking to everyone besides our cousins. Sort of. Just simple words, like, "Momma" and, "Dada". The ruse was so much fun. No one except our cousins had any idea. And we were being left in our cousin's care again this nice evening.

"Are you sure you'll be able to take care of them again?" Mom asked Anna and Sam. "We had no problems last time. We should be able to," Anna answered. "You want us to try to help them learn more words?" Sam asked Mom and Dad. "Sure. Hopefully they'll pick them up while we're out," Dad said.

"Momma and Dada out?" I asked Mom and Dad curiously, in the ruse. They both smiled and hugged us. "Only for a little while sweetie," Dad said to me. Both Dylan and I smiled at him. "Now have fun. But not too much fun," Uncle Skipper said to Sam and Anna. "Of course Dad," Sam said to him. With that, it was just us four cousins.

"That was risky cousin," Anna said to me. I laughed. "I know. But I just couldn't resist," I said, smirking. "It's too bad they won't let us go with them," Dylan said. "They keep saying weapons lab raids aren't safe for you two. But eventually we'll all be able to go with them," Sam said. "Yeah, like we'll be able to go to Dad's world eventually. Our grandparents seem to like us, over our chats," Dylan said.

"We wish we knew our grandparents. At least you know one set," Sam said. "I do wonder where they all are. Your mother was the last to see them, on our mothers' side. She might know where they went. Then again, she was really happy to see our Mom when we went there on vacation," Anna said.

"We'll just ask Mom eventually, then. But, yeah, we are lucky," I said. "Do they still think it's weird that you aren't human?" Sam asked us. "Yeah, they seem to think that. Why is it that no one besides us understands that?" Dylan asked the two. "We don't know either. We explicitly told them last year," Anna said, shaking her head.

"Whatever the case, I'm glad us four exist at all," I said. "You're glad for the time-proofing serum as well, aren't you?" Sam asked us. "Yeah. Or what happened last year wouldn't have happened. Still shell-shocked?" I asked our cousins. "A little. But that did tie into your mother's prophecy," Anna said.

"That's still absolutely wild to us. And you all were unknowingly part of it!" Dylan said. "I wonder how your father had reacted if he knew of it before your mother told him," Anna said to us. "Hmm. Yeah, I wonder too. But then you might have different, less fun cousins," I said. We all laughed.

"You're both insane," Sam said to us. "We blame Mom. Who blames Dad. Who says it was Mom's idea. I have no idea what they mean by that though," Dylan said. "We don't either. They've kept it classified since their honeymoon ended," Anna said. "Let's just not press for it. Something's telling me to leave that alone," I said.

"Something is telling us that as well. So what do you want us to teach you?" Sam asked us. "You've been helping us to read, write, and do basic math. That's been really helpful. But what's the training you all do every morning?" Dylan asked them. "Well, you've obviously overheard all the Blowhole stories. That's what the training is for," Anna answered.

"Can you teach us? That way if we're all caught off guard, we can help?" I asked them. "Well, we should do the corkscrew first, before everyone comes back, since that's up above," Sam answered. "Yes, but how much time do we have?" Dylan asked him.

"Your father keeps leaving his computer here and he has his phone on him. We can't go down to level 13, but we can use that," Sam answered. "Sounds like a plan cousin," I said. We walked into the lab and the computer was on, in sleep mode. When we opened it, it didn't ask for a password. It must not have timed out yet.

We went to a web site for tracking phones and Dad's account information was already available, so we just clicked the sign in arrow. After a few seconds, the map came up. "They're still on their way there, in the car. We've got more than enough time," Anna said.

"That's good. Hey, what's that?" I asked, noticing a bookmark. "I remember that. Your mother was really nuts with that," Sam said. "We know Mom's nuts and we're even more mischievous. But how?" I asked again. Anna and Sam clicked on it. "Curse our curiosity," both Sam and Anna said while the page loaded.

"Now which one of your parents' fault is that?" Dylan asked the two. "It's Mom's fault. And she blames herself," Anna said. "Both of our mothers are strange. But that's not a bad thing," I said. We all laughed, since it was true.

Finally, the page loaded. "Cross-Portal Internet is really slow today," Sam said. "At least it's loading. But how does that work?" I asked the two. "No idea. I don't think even Kowalski knows how," Anna said. "That's too bad. But another mystery, I guess. Hey, is that us?" I asked after a picture had loaded of a newborn Otter and Penguin.

"Yeah, that was you two a few hours after you were born," Sam said. "Mom kept a public record while she was having us? She really is crazy," I said, laughing. "We all thought the same thing," Anna said, after they all laughed as well. We looked through it, from the first post to the last one, which was the day we were born.

"Wow, Mom's more nuts than we thought," Dylan said. "She really is. Mom looks like she really was big, due to us," I said. "Well, four and a half months isn't exactly normal for Otters," Anna said. "Well, what about your mother?" Dylan asked them.

"Mom didn't keep a blog, but she did say before we were born it was getting really hard to move. After 3 and a half months or so is the point where Otters can't move without help," Sam said. "Since, we're half human, how long for them?" I asked them.

"I think your father said 9 months. But let's get back to our original goal, shall we?" Anna asked us. We checked back on everyone and they were still at the lab, so we were fine. We went up above, after making sure no one would spot us. "So what is this corkscrew you speak of?" Dylan and I eagerly asked our cousins.

"This," they said. They both started running towards and then up a lamppost. Then they leaped off it. As gravity took over, they started spinning towards the pool. They landed in it and slowed down before they came back up. "That was really cool. Who taught you that?" Dylan asked them.

"Both Mom and Dad did. And Dad learned it first," Sam said. "For what purpose?" I asked him. "For showing off for Mom. Wow, it's been six years since he said he did that for the first time," Anna said. * "We think we can try. So just run, leap, and spin?" Dylan asked her. "Yep. Good luck you two," Sam said.

Dylan and I then both ran around on the platform for a few seconds, making sure to build up enough speed. Then we headed up a lamppost. We leaped off the top of it. It was so cool! But both Dylan and I remained focused on our goal. The moment gravity took over, we started spinning. We landed in the water perfectly.

"How was that?" I asked our cousins while Dylan and I both shook the water off ourselves. "That was really good. How'd you do that with almost no instructions?" Anna asked us. "Ottans for the win," we said, smirking. We jumped back down.

"As soon as you actually reveal to your parents all this, we'll be having a competition on that," Sam said. "Good old cousin rivalry," I said, smiling. We made sure to delete the surveillance from what happened, along with the computer's history. We just sat down at the table before everyone came back.

"Mommy and Daddy!" Dylan and I exclaimed, running to them. We were happy to see them, but overdid it because of our ruse. "We're glad to see you too," Mom and Dad said to us, hugging us. "So how'd it go?" Anna asked everyone. "Thanks for asking sweetie. It went really well, since we didn't have Julien interfering," Uncle Skipper said. **

"What did you do with your cousins?" Mom asked both Sam and Anna. "Well, we tried to teach them a few words. It's hard," Anna said. Both Dylan and I looked at each other and acted like we were trying to form our cousins' names.

"Sam. Anna," we said, pointing to each cousin. "That's right, children. Your cousins' names are Sam and Anna," Dad said to us. "Well, those are our nicknames, at least, Uncle Matthew," Sam said to Dad. "I know. But I've called you that since you told me to," Dad replied. "And we appreciate that," Anna said happily to him.

That's where I shall end this chapter. All of you are so mischievous! Please rate and review this chapter. I've got a few notes today-.

* Reminder: It's July 2015. It's been six years since "Crown Fools" happened to everyone.

** Referencing "Thumb Drive" where Julien ruined the Penguins' and Maurice's lab raid.


	4. Chapter 4 - Surprising Revelations

This certainly is fun. Let's go forward another month shall we?

**CHAPTER 4 – Surprising Revelations**

(P staying with Anna) Once again, everyone left us cousins together while they went on a snack run. Both Dylan and Julia were slowly, at least to everyone else, learning more words. While everyone was out, Sam and I continued to train our cousins in case anyone decided to attack. Thankfully, no one had, but it was still fun.

"So how were your days?" Dylan asked Sam and I. "Pretty good. How were yours?" Sam asked them. "Pretty good. It's fun performing for the crowds. It's nice that after we started talking to everyone else they let us do that," Julia said. "I agree. People here really are clueless as to what we can do," Dylan said.

"That's what makes it fun," I said. We all laughed. "Yeah. But when will we actually go to Dad's world? We've still been talking to our grandparents, but only in video chats," Dylan said. "We didn't get to go until we were 9 months old. But that wasn't due to our parents," Sam said. "Yeah. We did get to see our world first. And that was when we learned of your mother," I said.

"We really all were scattered. Different worlds, different aquariums and zoos… It's nuts," Julia said. "We agree. I'm still surprised that you don't have your Escape Suits yet, though. I thought you would have them by now," I said to our cousins. "We're surprised, too. But maybe we're not going to Dad's world yet," Dylan said. "Probably when you can talk, well when they learn that, we'll all go there. I heard your father say that," Sam said.

"Hmm, that's vexing. But I am a bit tired of being mollycoddled," Dylan said. *** "Me too. But do you want to give up this awesome ruse?" Julia asked him. "Only if you do," Dylan said. "Well, yeah. That should be fun anyway," Julia said. "Won't they be shocked at us all," Sam said. We all laughed, knowing that would be the case.

(P to me) We were all on our way back from the snack run. Thankfully, we hadn't run into X so we didn't have any problems. **** "So the kids are learning their words at a pretty good pace," Emily said. "I agree. I just wonder when they'll be as fluent as we all are," I said.

"Probably soon. After all, they are learning everything faster than we all thought they would," Marlene said. "That's true sis. After that, then we'll go to your world," Emily said to me. "That'll be fun for everyone. First my parents and then the interviews. But for my parents, we'll make them human. Well, I will," I said. We all laughed. "I love that you can do that," Emily said to me. "I love doing it, too," I said, kissing her.

(P back to Anna before the end of the snack run) "So are you ready to lose the ruse?" I checked with our cousins. "Yep. I can't wait to see the shock on all their faces," Julia said with a smirk. "Me too," Dylan agreed, with a smirk as well.

"Our parents should be surprised as well. They'll all think they're slipping again," Sam said. "Well, they really are," Julia pointed out. We all laughed. "That's absolutely true cousin," I said to her.

Just then everyone dropped down the hatch. "Hi. Did everything go well?" Sam asked everyone. "Yep. We had no trouble. How about you?" Uncle Matthew asked us. This was certainly going to be fun.

"We had no trouble at all Dad," Dylan said to him. "Thanks for leaving us in good hands," Julia said. Everyone's faces were in total shock of them talking in full-fledged words. Sam and I were trying to hard not to burst out laughing.

"Um… You're not doing this, right honey?" Aunt Emily checked with Uncle Matthew. "No Mom, we're doing it of our own free will," Dylan said. "And yes, Dad, we know how you can change things around willy-nilly," Julia said. Everyone's faces were still in utter shock.

"Hold up a second, kids. How are you doing this?" Uncle Matthew asked Dylan and Julia. "I dunno. The same way everyone learns, I guess, Dad," Dylan said. It was getting harder and harder for Sam and I not to laugh at all this.

Aunt Emily whispered something faintly to Uncle Matthew, but we all still picked it up. "Did we do anything with the fountain for this?" she asked Uncle Matthew. "No, I know we didn't do anything. Have they ever been by the fountain? I know I turned it off," Uncle Matthew replied, still whispering.

"No Mom and Dad, we haven't been to the fountain yet. Go ahead and check the security tapes, if you wish," Julia said to them. Everyone was still in shock. "They know about the security tapes and that you can change things at will. What else do you think they know?" Aunt Emily asked Uncle Matthew. "Oh, we know everything Mom," Dylan said.

"Yep. We know what we all look like as humans, including you Dad," Julia said. "Not to mention your world Dad and that wild prophecy Mom," Dylan said. Everyone went into an even deeper shock. "How do they know about the prophecy?! We've never told them," Aunt Emily whispered to Uncle Matthew even fainter.

"You're not exactly covert with that Mom and Dad," Julia said. "Wait, how come you two aren't shocked at this. How long have you known?" Dad asked Sam and I. "Oh, we revealed what we can do to Anna and Sam about, I don't remember. What do you think sis?" Dylan asked Julia. "I think at about 4 weeks old," she said. "Yep, that's when it happened," I agreed.

"What were you able to do at 4 weeks old, exactly?" Uncle Matthew asked them. "Oh, just about everything we can do now. Walking and talking in full sentences like this," Dylan explained. "Oh, and every time you all go out and leave us, we've learned our training, as Anna and Sam put it. We really have lots of enemies don't we?" Julia asked everyone.

Suddenly Aunt Emily grew even more wide-eyed. "Yes, we do. Do you remember anything from before being born?" she asked them. "You mean how you've said how you were able to communicate to us and we communicated back?" Dylan asked Aunt Emily. "Yes, that. Do you remember that?" Aunt Emily asked them.

"Sorry, Mom, but no. The earliest thing I remember is all those shots you gave us. Thanks for preventing all those diseases from our technically three species from getting to us," Julia said. "And thanks for protecting us from the timeline changing as well," Dylan added. At that, literally everyone fainted.

"Well, I kind of did expect that to happen," Julia said as we all walked into the lab to get smelling salts. "As did we. That was pretty fun," I said, smiling. "Oh, it really was. And to be clear, we really don't remember Mom communicating with us and vice versa," Dylan said. "Well, that's disappointing. We would have given you another point for that," Sam said. We all laughed as we cracked the smelling salts under everyone's noses.

After they all smelled the smelling salts, they all woke up. "Well, I can honestly say that I'm shocked," Aunt Emily said. "Same here honey," Uncle Matthew said to her. "I think you two easily inherited the Otter trait of being mischievous," Mom said to Dylan and Julia.

"Thank you for noticing Aunt Marlene," Julia said to Mom. "You two obviously realize you'll closely be watched for any more mischievousness right?" Uncle Matthew asked them. "Yes, Dad. But good luck with that," Dylan said with a smirk. "Oh, we can just call you back no matter where you are, so watch for that honey," Aunt Emily said to them.

"Not in Dad's world Mom," Julia said to Aunt Emily. "Darn. I wish you hadn't overheard that," Uncle Matthew said. "So when can we go there and meet our grandparents?" Dylan asked him. "Well you'll need your Escape Suits first, of course," Aunt Emily said. "The fans really are that nuts, aren't they?" Julia asked us all.

"They really are. They kept going insane over my blog when I was pregnant with you two," Aunt Emily said to them. ***** "Oh, we know. We found that a few weeks ago," Dylan said. "How'd you find that?" Uncle Matthew asked him. "It wasn't that hard really. We looked at it one of the nights you left us here, in our cousins' care," Julia said to him.

"I knew I shouldn't have left that out in the open, unlocked. I knew my gut was telling me something. Now I know the answer as to why," Uncle Matthew said. ****** "Was I at least a good writer?" Aunt Emily checked with them. "You really are good at that Aunt Emily," I said to her.

"Now you two will be watched as well," Dad said to us. "To be clear, that was our idea for the computer. Not theirs," Dylan said to him. "Please tell me you did not show them what feral means," Mom said to us. "No. We found that out on our own. I'm glad none of us can do that," Julia said, speaking of us cousins.

We saw Mom and Aunt Emily nod. Sam and I knew what was coming. Both of them went feral and scared us witless, sending us to our bunks. We poked our heads out nervously. "Oh wow," Dylan said at them. "Exactly," Aunt Emily said with a low growl. "Please… go back to normal," Julia said after a minute, frightened.

Both Mom and Aunt Emily did. "My, I haven't seen either of your feral sides in awhile," Uncle Matthew said to them. "We're still both extremely sorry about that," Mom said to him. "Especially me! I almost did it!" Aunt Emily said. "Mom, he took advantage of you. He was going to use us as weapons. But Dad broke you free!" Julia said to her.

"That I did. Are you sure you don't remember anything from then?" Uncle Matthew asked them. "We're sure Dad. It's locked somewhere," Dylan said. "Alright then," Aunt Emily said. After that, we talked about how shocked we had been at them talking to us out of the blue and then going along with their plan. After that, we all went to bed.

Well, that's the end of their ruse. But that was fun, wasn't it? Please rate and review this chapter. I've got a few notes today.

* Referencing back to _Pengotters: The Early Months _and _Book 5_.

** Referencing _Book 4_.

*** Vexing: make (someone) feel annoyed, frustrated, or worried, esp. with trivial matters

Mollycoddled: treat (someone) very indulgently or protectively.

**** Referencing "Snowmageddon".

***** Referencing _Book 7_.

****** Reminder: I said to everyone in Book 3 that I had picked up Skipper's gut from training with them all in Book 2.


	5. Chapter 5 - A Snack Run

Welcome to the 5th chapter of this story. Time for more fun!

**CHAPTER 5 – A Snack Run**

(P moving forward a month and to Julia) It had been fun since we had told everyone else we could speak fluently. We had gone to Dad's world and met our grandparents and more of our human family. They really liked us.

We'd gone there as humans for our family, but for interviews, we went as our normal selves. The Escape Suits really were needed, as we figured out even before we arrived at our interview. The hosts were nice, but the fans were nuts, as everyone had said. The second we had landed; we had to fly up and look for a different way in.

Everyone surprisingly let us go on small missions with our cousins, after a delay. Well, that delay was our fault. Everyone had been watching us closely for any mischief. Needless to say, we suppressed that trait. Sort of.

Like our cousins, we eventually gained control over our trait. Mostly. As they were still curious sometimes, we were still a bit mischievous. But not to the extent we used to be. Actually, we were on a snack mission right now.

"I'm glad everyone trusts us more now," I said as we were walking through the park. It was night, so we didn't have to be as covert. "You did walk right into that though," Anna said to Dylan and I. "That's one thing we didn't count on," Dylan said. "You really learned to control your impulses fast, at least," Sam said to us. "That took a lot of work. But we aren't as bad as Julien is, right?" I checked with them.

"Not even close. You should have seen what happened to us when he thought it was April Fools a few years ago," Anna said. * "You said Julien blasted you with paint and chained your parents together. That's taking it too far. But remind us to ask you to show us that on the Memory Viewer later," Dylan said. "Sure thing cousin," Sam said.

"Quick question, though: Do you think everyone's been watching us?" I asked everyone. "Please. With your father, I'm sure they are. I wouldn't be surprised if they're invisible or something, hiding in trees and bushes," Anna said. "You're probably right," I said to her.

(P to me) "Dang. They're catching on honey," I said to Emily. "At least they don't know where we are. Or what we are. Thanks for changing us into birds that can fly," she said to me as we flew above everyone.

"You're welcome. I'm glad they don't recognize us," I replied. "You want to throw a challenge at them, since we can just end that if we want to?" Emily asked me after a minute. "Always mischievous. But what did you have in mind?" I asked her.

(P back to Julia) "Well, it doesn't look like they're anywhere," I said to everyone after we had checked the trees and bushes. "They're out here somewhere. But let's get back on track," Anna said. "Taking charge sis?" Sam asked her. "Well, I am the oldest out of all of us," Anna said.

"By mere minutes!" Sam protested. "Your loss," Anna replied. She and I high fived, since we were both the older sisters in our families. "Why is it that girls are born first for Ottans and Pengotters?" Dylan asked us all. "I don't think anyone knows that answer to that question," I said to him, making us laugh.

(P to returning from the Snackitarium) "Well, that was surprisingly easy. After their tale of Snowmageddon, I expected it to be harder," I said as we were walking back. "We actually saw that, thanks to your father. But, yeah, I expected it to be harder as well," Anna said. "As long as X doesn't work at the zoo again, then I'm good with not finding him," Sam said. **

Suddenly I noticed a human walking towards us, but not seeing us. "Tree. Now," I said. "Why?" Dylan asked me. I pointed up ahead. "Oh great. X is now cleaning up the park," Anna said as we clambered up a tree with the supplies. "Now what?" I asked everyone as we were hiding.

"We need to not let him sense we're here. We saw he has an uncanny sense of smell towards animals," Anna said. "We may be half human, but we're still part Otter. But I think you two should worry. You're a combination of both of the species X doesn't like," I said. Both Anna and Sam shivered. "Thanks for that. We've got to come up with a plan," Sam said.

(P to me) "Well, I must say, they're doing a good job so far," I said to Emily. We had landed in a different tree. "I agree with you. They haven't been spotted yet. But how much is X's range? He might sense us too," Emily said to me.

"We're pigeons, honey. I don't think he cares about us. But that's not the case for them," I said to her. "Yes, they're in a bit of a pickle. Remember to only help them if needed though," she reminded me. "Of course, Can't have it be too simple," I said to Emily.

(P back to Julia) "What is X's strategy?" I asked Anna and Sam. "Capture us at any cost," Anna answered. Suddenly X started looking around as if he had picked up that we were here. "I smell something. Something I haven't smelled in a long time. Otters and Penguins," X said angrily.

"We need a plan. Now," I said, panicking. "Leave the supplies and go from tree to tree. We'll grab this later," Anna said. Just as X was about to come near the tree, we bolted away, trying to get back to the zoo. Unfortunately, X was on our tails.

He, in quick glances, seemed confused as why we were out here and not anyone else, but he didn't care. He just wanted to prove that we all really were not acting like how everyone thought animals act.

(P to me) "Leaving the supplies. That's a ding on their record," I said to Emily as we followed everyone by flying. "At least give our children a break honey. This is their first villain," Emily said to me. "I will. But let's see how this plays out, shall we?" I asked her. "Absolutely," Emily agreed.

(P back to Julia) We looked back and suddenly X wasn't there. We looked sat down on a branch, relieved that we had lost X. "That was too close," I said. "Yeah. We'll have to let everyone know X is working in the park now when we get back," Sam said. "We'll get Dad to make him get another job that won't interfere with our missions and the like in the park," Dylan said.

"Allow me to prune your tree," X suddenly said. We hadn't lost him! Suddenly, the leaves from the in front of us were ripped away and we saw X. We tried to flee in the other direction, but failed.

"Thought I lost your trail, huh? Wrong, X is always on the job," he said. We had absolutely no idea what to do. We'd been caught. Suddenly, bird poop fell on X's head. As he reacted to it, he dropped us. We landed down on the ground and all kicked him into the tree, knocking him out.

(P to me) "Huh. That was interesting. I didn't do that," I said to Emily. "Really? That wasn't part of your plan? That real pigeon just went right then and there?" she asked me, curious. I chuckled. "Nope. That pigeon just went on X. I wonder if he has a beef with him," I said. Everyone was heading back to the tree with their supplies, so we started flying back there as well.

"Maybe. But that was funny," Emily said to me, slightly laughing. "I agree. That was a good kick by those four. Anna and Sam taught our children well," I said to her. "They sure did. Also, how did we miss that?" she asked me. "I've got no idea. We're slipping," I answered. Even though we were flying, we managed to kiss without falling to the ground. After that, I sent the two of us back to the HQ as a Penguin and Otter again.

(P back to Julia) "Seriously, where did that come from?" I asked everyone. "There have been some pigeons flying around. Maybe it was one of them," Dylan suggested. "Most likely cousin. They've said they have a beef with the parks commissioner, so they probably have one with X as well," Sam suggested. *** "Either than or that pigeon just went. Also, disgusting creatures if that was the case," Anna said. "Absolutely. We need to tell everyone about X though," I said. "Definitely sis," Dylan said to me.

(P back to me in the HQ) "So how did they do on their snack mission?" Skipper asked Emily and I after we got back. "Really well. Especially in the face of X," I answered. "Did you do that?" Marlene asked me. "Actually, he already worked in the park sis. We just made him walk towards everyone," Emily answered.

"Well, we'll just have to ask them how they think they did when they get back," Skipper said. "And next time, we get to fly!" Marlene exclaimed. We all laughed, since we had been flying and they were stuck on the ground.

(P to when everyone got back) "So how did it go?" I asked the four. "Well, we didn't have any problems at the Snackitarium, but we did on the way back," Julia answered. "What happened?" Marlene asked them curiously. "We ran into X," Sam answered. "Did you have any trouble?" Emily asked him.

"Thankfully, we didn't. We almost got caught, but then a pigeon randomly just pooped on X's head," Dylan said. "And we used the kicking maneuver we saw you use on him during Snowmageddon," Anna said proudly. Skipper and Marlene smiled at that memory.

"I remember that," Marlene said happily. "And I remember watching you do that," I said. "Four years. My how much has changed since then," Skipper said. "Absolutely," I said, making all our rings appear on our flippers and digits. I kissed Emily while Skipper kissed Marlene before we hugged our children.

That's a wrap on this chapter. Might as well be for the book as well. Please review this chapter. But I'm still not done! Please go to the epilogue after you read today's notes.

* Referencing _Pengotters: The Early Months_.

** Referencing back to "The Officer X Factor."

*** Referencing "In The Line Of Duty".


	6. Chapter 6 - Epilogue

Welcome to the epilogue for _Ottans: The Early Months_. Let me tell you, I was stuck on this for awhile (during writing). I had a massive creative slump for this. That's actually how _Memory Loss_ and _Skilene Holidays_ came to be. Thankfully, I've finally come up with more ideas. But let's review this story, shall we?

So, yeah, this book was short. That's totally due to my creative slump. It was better than Book 6, though, right? That was ok, but this was thankfully better. I blame school for my creative slump. I know it's the summer right now, but at the bottom will be the usual completion date and such.

So now we have more OC's! Why, hello, Dylan and Julia. As with my other OC's, I carefully picked their names. For great characters, you've got to have great names. And these two have their own special trait of them.

My first two OC's, Samuel and Annabelle are curious. I adapted that trait from Marlene, as you learned back in Book 3. Remember that? So since Emily's a bit mischievous, Dylan and Julia will take after that trait. And they really do.

Once again, no master plan was made. I really need to get back into that (at the time of writing this). So it just came out of my head that Dylan and Julia acted mischievous towards their parents. They even got their cousins in on the action. Those four are great, though. They sure fooled everyone, didn't they?

So X also came to me randomly. X hasn't appeared in my stories before since they were mostly set in our world, except for the _Pengotter_ stories and Book 5. How'd you like what happened? I do think the pigeons have a beef with him, since he does go after every other animal.

So if you've got any more questions about the plot, go ahead and ask them and I'll answer them in your PM's and here too, if you want. Only with your express permission, though. So let's reveal my latest story in this saga.

_The timeline is at risk by… us? When are we and how do we get back home? Will we not change things around and if we do, can we fix them?_

So more time travel! That's all you'll get, for now. But you'll only be waiting a week for the first chapter to be released! Yup, we're back on the schedule of a week between new stories again. It is coming on October 26.

So I hope you liked this short book and that it introduced Dylan and Julia well. I'll see you next week!

Beginning Day: November 17, 2013

Ending Day: October 15, 2014


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